Tributes have been pouring for actor Christopher Lee -- who passed away this week at the age of 93 -- from those who worked with him on the Star Wars and Middle-earth franchises.

George Lucas, who cast Lee as Count Dooku in the latter two installments of his Star Wars prequel trilogy, said in a statement, "Christopher was a great British actor of the old school. A true link to cinema's past and a real gentleman. We will miss him."

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Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy said: “Christopher brought a grace and gravitas to the many roles he's played over a rich and expansive career. His performance as Count Dooku in Episodes II and III remains a highlight of the Star Wars saga, and we have been so privileged and honored to count him among our family. Christopher was a gentle soul and deeply adored by fans, and we will miss him dearly.”

Oscar-winning filmmaker Peter Jackson, who directed Lee as Saruman in the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies, posted the following tribute on his Facebook page:

"It is with tremendous sadness that I learnt of the passing of Sir Christopher Lee. He was 93 years old, had not been in his usual good health for some time, but his spirit remained, as always, indomitable.

Christopher spoke seven languages; he was in every sense, a man of the world; well versed in art, politics, literature, history and science. He was scholar, a singer, an extraordinary raconteur and of course, a marvelous actor. One of my favourite things to do whenever I came to London would be to visit with Christopher and Gitte where he would regale me for hours with stories about his extraordinary life. I loved to listen to them and he loved to tell them - they were made all the more compelling because they were true - stories from his time with the SAS, through the Second World War, to the Hammer Horror years and later, his work with Tim Burton - of which he was enormously proud.

I was lucky enough to work with Chris on five films all told and it never ceased to be a thrill to see him on set. I remember him saying on my 40th Birthday (he was 80 at the time), “You’re half the man I am”. Being half the man Christopher Lee is, is more than I could ever hope for. He was a true gentleman, in an era that no longer values gentleman.

I grew up loving Christopher Lee movies. For most of my life I was enthralled by the great iconic roles he not only created - but continued to own decades later. But somewhere along the way Christopher Lee suddenly, and magically, dissolved away and he became my friend, Chris. And I loved Chris even more.

There will never be another Christopher Lee. He has a unique place in the history of cinema and in the hearts of millions of fans around the world.

The world will be a lesser place without him in it.

My deepest sympathies to Gitte and to his family and friends.

Rest in peace, Chris.

An icon of cinema has passed into legend."

And finally Lee's co-star in the Tolkien trilogies, Sir Ian McKellen, also took to Facebook to express his condolences over the passing of the screen legend:

"When I arrived in New Zealand to start filming as Gandalf, in the first week of the 21st Century, Peter Jackson held a dinner for some of the cast. I was happily next to Christopher Lee who I had known of throughout my actor-admiring life. He'd been cast as the white wizard Saruman but his opening line to me was: 'I've always thought I should play Gandalf. I read Lord of the Rings every year - sometimes twice.'

He then treated me to a snatch of the black speech of Mordor and I felt inadequate. Not that that was Chris's intention: he was 78 and well practised in the art of gentlemanly rectitude. The epitome of 'tall, dark and handsome' kept any inner demons for his acting Dracula, Frankenstein's monster and, once, as Sherlock Holmes.

It's what made his Saruman so effective. With his long beard and white robes, he had the air of a stern yet benign Pope that belied his ambition to rule Middle-earth, with cruelty and spite.

Between our facing-off on the set, he could easily be persuaded to reminisce. After all there were over 200 films on his CV and a couple of singing albums. His earliest intention was to be an opera bass., Touchingly he was a little nervous at the outset. 'Peter made me do my first speech 10 times!!' I told him not to worry as the previous day I'd had to repeat a scene 27 times. His dark eyes widened and glinted but he didn't complain again.

Peter was tickled to have his Hammer Horror hero as the villain and devised a spectacular death to acknowledge his vampiric past - falling onto a spike which pierced his dastardly heart. Chris didn't much approve and I think the episode can only be seen in the extended Director's Cut.

An odd pity that he didn't work in the theatre, nor direct a film, like his idol Laurence Olivier who had Chris as a spear-carrier in his film of Hamlet. But he was justly proud of the span and success of his career in movies and when knighted must, like all of us, have been pleased to share a title with Sir Larry.

The last time Saruman and Gandalf filmed together was 'round a table in Rivendell but while Galadriel, Elrond and I were in the Wellington studio, Sir Christopher's interjections were filmed in London some months later. You can't tell. In movies, all is not as it seems.

Yet when he joined the Star Wars cast he said he did all his own stunts without benefit of a stand-in. That certainly wasn't true of his gravity-defying fight with Gandalf. I suspect he just wanted to declare he was in old age fit for purpose. He needn't have worried. His acting prowess never declined."